We have witnessed many engaging documentaries focusing on visual artists: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the documentary format truly excels when displaying particularly vivid photographs. Now we have another remarkable case, by creator Yemi Bamiro, documenting the remarkable professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and social justice champion who embodied a unique cultural-activist vision.
Together with his family member Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the Grandassa Models in New York: youthful women of color who became the transformative template for visual appeal, moving beyond typical grooming practices and the usual white standard of female beauty.
The Power of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful transformed into a radical call to action, an visionary concise prose poem for progress. Simply to assert that people of color possessed beauty emerged as a empowering force in culture, politics and creative expression. The photographer became integral to the social justice African diaspora movement by documenting the sports icon before his iconic Zaire bout in that era.
He became the exclusive visual documentarian for the musical group's international performances, and later was named the official visual chronicler for the legendary Harlem venue, building an extraordinary portfolio of musical pioneers. Together with his brother, he emerged as the central figure behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in New York.
Family Legacy
Brathwaite's son Kwame Jr shares the family's mission to ensure appropriate credit for his family heritage after he was painfully overlooked in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by the former president in this century.
The feature additionally explores the deeply tragic origin of the photographer's interest in visual storytelling: the shocking photographs of the lynching martyr, the teenage Black murder victim whose grieving mother defiantly requested an uncovered casket so the violent nature of racist violence could not be concealed.
Amidst Sorrow to Hope
In this vision of horror, Brathwaite encountered a form of anti-epiphany that directed him toward images of community. His work beautifully expressed celebratory strength and typically nuanced in approach: he curated a new iconography of empowerment through which social causes could mobilize.
The documentary stands as an captivating chronicle of cultural impact that continues to resonate through the years.
